We’d like to recognize the significant contributions of three Black educators who helped shape the future of higher education, breaking down barriers and inspiring generations of learners and educational leaders.
Mary McLeod Bethune
Mary McLeod Bethune is regarded as one of the most significant Black educators and civil rights activists of the 20th century. The daughter of formerly enslaved parents, Bethune believed education was key to opening the doors of opportunity for Black Americans. She founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls in Daytona, Florida, in 1904, serving as president of the school. The school was eventually combined with the Cookman Institute for Men in 1923 (other sources cite 1929), merging to form the Bethune-Cookman College, Bethune becoming the first Black woman to serve as a college president. The college was one of the few institutions where Black students could seek a college degree. And as of fall 2023, Bethune-Cookman University enrolled 2,415 undergraduate students.
Mary McLeod Bethune, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. (1940 – 1949).
Kelly Miller
Kelly Miller was a groundbreaking educator, mathematician and writer, becoming the first Black man to attend Johns Hopkins University for post-graduate study. He would go on to eventually join Howard University’s faculty as a mathematics professor, helping found the American Negro Academy in 1897, the first organization for Black scholars and artists.
Miller introduced sociology to Howard’s curriculum in 1895, becoming the first person to teach the subject at the university. Eventually becoming dean of Howard’s College of Arts and Sciences in 1907, he worked to add new natural and social science courses, transforming the curriculum. Due to his tireless recruitment efforts across the south, student enrollment tripled during his first four years in that position.
Kelly Miller, LL.D. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, The New York Public Library. (1904).
Mary Jane Patterson
Becoming the first Black woman to receive a bachelor’s degree when she graduated from Oberlin College in 1862, Mary Jane Patterson quickly established herself as trailblazer. She devoted her career to education, teaching at the Institute of Colored Youth, now known as Cheyney University, eventually becoming the school principal at the Preparatory High School for Colored Youth, the first U.S. public high school for Black Americans. The Mary Jane Patterson Scholarship was established in 2019, which aims to support post-baccalaureate students who are interested in teaching in urban classrooms.
Mary Jane Patterson, first Black woman to be granted a bachelor’s degree in the U.S. (Oberlin College, 1862). Photo retrieved from Oberlin College Archives.
During this Black History Month 2025, we celebrate the contributions of these three Black educators whose accomplishments continue to ring out throughout higher education today.
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Black
people must be discerning about racist attacks on DEI programs while
also acknowledging that “diversity” can be a con that damages Black
politics, just as it was meant to do.
The sight of Al Sharpton
holding a protest at a New York City Costco store is a sure sign that
very problematic politics are being practiced. In this instance,
Sharpton’s theatrics were inspired by the corporations which
discontinued their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. DEI
has been in conservative crosshairs with conservative think tanks and activists
filing numerous lawsuits claiming that the programs are discriminatory.
The same corporations who joined in the performative DEI programs when
it was convenient have now run for cover. Costco is one of the few who
didn’t and so got the seal of approval from Reverend Al.
Corporate DEI programs came into vogue in 2020 in
the wake of nationwide protest after the police killing of George Floyd.
The fact that both white police and corporate CEOs were “taking a knee”
allegedly in sympathy with protesters should have been a sign that
anything emanating from these gestures was a joke at best and a betrayal
at worst.
According to a 2023 report,
only 4% of chief diversity officer positions in U.S. corporations were
held by Black people, who also had the lowest average salaries. DEI
mania was a public relations effort intended to stem Black protest while
doing nothing to improve the material conditions of Black workers, even
for those who were involved in this project. The usual hierarchies
remained in place, with white men and women getting the top jobs and the
most money. Also Black people were not the only group subject to DEI
policies, as other “people of color,” women, and the LGBTQ+ community
were also competing for a piece of the questionable action.
In addition to the right wing legal attack, Donald Trump is so obsessed
with ending DEI in the federal government that all employees connected
with such programs were placed on administrative leave after one of his
many executive orders were issued. Federal workers were instructed to report
on their knowledge of any DEI activity that hadn’t been ferreted out.
The Trump administration DEI ban means that agencies are being told not
to even allow for any affinity events or celebrations. Although that
idea might not be bad if it prevented the FBI from claiming to honor Martin Luther KIng, a man they surveilled, harassed, and encouraged to commit suicide. Not to be deterred in the Trumpian witch hunt, the Air Force
briefly deleted information about the Tuskegee Airmen and Women Army
Service Pilots (WASPs) from a basic training curriculum, only to return
the information after public outrage emerged when military heroes,
usually revered, were getting the usual rough treatment meted out to
Black people.
Yet it is difficult to ignore the Trump anti-DEI
frenzy. At its core it is an effort to disappear Black people from
public life altogether under the guise of protecting a white meritocracy
which never existed. However, it would be a mistake to embrace a failed
effort which succeeds only at liberal virtue signalling and creating a
more diverse group of managers to help in running the ruling class machinery.
DEI was a repackaging of affirmative action, a term
which fell into disfavor after years of complaint from aggrieved white
people and which was undone by Supreme Court decisions. Like affirmative
action, it was a calculated response to serious political action,
action which threatened to upend a system in dire need of disrupting and
bringing the justice and the democracy that are so often bragged about
yet that remain so elusive.
As always, Black people are caught between the
proverbial rock and hard place, not wanting to ignore Trumpian antics
while also being wary of any connection with the likes of Al Sharpton.
The confusion about what to do is rampant and mirrors the general sense
of confusion about Black political activity.
When the Target retail outlet ended its DEI
programs there were calls for boycotts. Of course others pointed out
that Target sold products created by Black owned companies
which would be harmed by the absence of Black shoppers. All of the
proposals are well meaning, meant to mitigate harm and to help Black
people in their endeavors. Yet they all miss the point.
The reality of an oppressive system renders such
concerns moot. Racial capitalism may give out a crumb here and another
there, and allow a few Black businesses some space on store shelves. If
nothing else it knows how to preserve itself and to co-opt at opportune
moments. Yet the fundamentals do not change. DEI is of little use. But
by ending it, Trump evokes great fear in a group of people whose
situation is so tenuous that it still clings to the useless and
discredited Democratic Party to protect itself from Trump and his ilk.
It is absolutely necessary to leave the false
comfort of denial that gives the impression Trump is offering some new
danger to Black people. The last thing Black people need is for the CIA
or the State Department to hide their dirty deeds behind King birthday
celebrations or Black History Month events. Black History Month should
be a time when plans for liberation are hatched, making it unattractive
to enemy government agencies to even consider using for propaganda
purposes.
The death of DEI should not be mourned. Its
existence is an affront to Black peoples’ history and valiant struggles.
DEI is just one of many means to keep us compliant and to give
legitimacy to what isn’t legitimate. If Al Sharpton is marching anywhere
the best course of action is to stay very far away.
As part of our online Inside the Center series, Dylan C. Penningroth, a 2013–14 SHC fellow, discusses his latest book, “Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights.” Joining him in conversation is historian and Stanford professor James T. Campbell. Through an empirically rich historical investigation into the changing meaning of civil rights, “Before the Movement” seeks to change the way we think about Black history itself. Weaving together a variety of sources—from state and federal appellate courts to long-forgotten documents found in county courthouse basements, from family interviews to church records—the book tries to reveal how African Americans thought about, talked about, and used the law long before the marches of the 1960s. In a world that denied their constitutional rights, Black people built lives for themselves through common law “rights of everyday use.”
In this season of ongoing celebrations, as we remember and reflect on the life and legacy of the late civil rights icon and leader, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,Dr. Ronald W. Whitaker, II we position this op-ed as a prophetic call to Black scholars. This call draws inspiration from Dr. King’s last public address on April 3, 1968, affectionately known as his Mountaintop Speech.
Upon arriving in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 3, 1968, King was physically exhausted, weighed down by the burdens of leadership, and grappling with his lifelong struggle with depression. What is less widely known; however, is that King arrived in Memphis the day before his assassination, in the midst of a fierce storm and tornado warnings.
Indeed, King began his address to the crowd that evening with the words, “I’m delighted to see each of you here tonight in spite of a storm warning. You reveal that you are determined to go on anyhow. Something is happening in Memphis, something is happening in our world” (King, 1968). The storm King referred to that night symbolizes the socio-political storms that many Black scholars are currently navigating, as turbulence and change rage both inside and outside of campus environments.
Williams writes: “The degree shortfall, along with changing demographics and an increasingly turbulent political landscape, has created a ‘perfect storm’ for leaders contemplating the role of diversity in higher education. To understand and overcome the challenges of this perfect storm, academic leaders must fundamentally reframe how they approach issues of diversity in our colleges and universities” (Williams, 2013, p. 31).
According to Williams, several “critical pressures” are fueling the perfect storm on college campuses. However, one of the most concerning threats, particularly for those advocating for authentic justice within higher education, is the ongoing legal and political assault on diversity and affirmative action. Following the second presidential election of Donald J. Trump, we have already begun to see the promised reverse of DEI initiatives within some of the country’s largest corporations. Similarly, as argued in this article, there is a continued effort to dismantle DEI programs in higher education.
Yet, on the evening of April 3, 1968, King was not only confronting a storm; he was also addressing a deeper, more pervasive, and pernicious problem, which he framed as a “sickness.” After introducing the historical context and poetic reflections on the movement, King did not mince words, asserting, “the nation is sick. Trouble is in the land; confusion all around.”
At the core of King’s assertion that “the nation is sick” was his identification of three major evils: (1) “the evil of racism,” (2) “the evil of poverty,” and (3) “the evil of war.” As a leading figure within the Black Prophetic Tradition, King understood that a nation rooted in systemic injustice, economic inequity, and racial oppression is inherently “sick.”
Unfortunately, as we write this article today, we are still confronting a serious “sickness” on campuses. Systemic equity gaps and disparities continue to persist across demographic groups, particularly impacting our most vulnerable students. Additionally, the rising cost of college tuition disproportionately affects students from lower-income families, further exacerbating the barriers to higher education. Economic inequities within higher education also highlight broader systemic inequalities, such as the underfunded programs designed to support vulnerable student populations (Mitchell, Leachman, & Masterson, 2018).
Despite the rhetoric suggesting that we have entered a “post-racial” society, studies present counternarratives expose widening gap on racial inequality in higher education. In the face of the storms and sickness described in this op-ed, it is easy to feel discouraged and downtrodden.
This is why we draw from the wisdom and courage of King, who, even in the midst of adversity, possessed the uncanny ability to speak the painful truth while simultaneously offering hope for a better tomorrow. For example, after asserting that the nation is sick, King reminded us that “only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”
We believe this is the focal point of King’s message. Specifically, despite the dark storms and sicknesses in society and within the academy, this may be the moment for us as Black scholars and leaders to shine. Our call to shine is not rooted in the pursuit of promotions, tenure, senior administrator positions, or the building of our professional brands. No, we argue that we must authentically shine in order to critically reflect on the issues plaguing campuses and, more importantly, to find the courage to stand for truth and justice.
We shine when we, as King urged America to do on April 3, 1968, remind campus leaders and colleagues to be “true to what you said on paper.” Each college has a mission statement, vision statement, code of ethics, values, and strategic plan that underscores the importance of moral behavior. Therefore, when we receive reports and data suggesting that vulnerable populations are being targeted within social catalytic spaces on college campuses, it is an urgent call to remind leadership to adhere to the values stated in official documents, such as websites, marketing materials, and other institutional communications.
Lastly, we shine when we confront the existential realities of our existence. As those closest to King have shared, on the night of April 3, 1968, he knew his time on earth was short. Similarly, despite our accolades and titles, our time in academia is relatively brief, and we must decide what legacy we wish to leave. In honoring our ancestors, elders, students, and communities we serve, we must stay focused on the promised land—a promised land rooted in justice, democracy, freedom, safety, security, opportunity, and solidarity. As such, we must not lose hope in the belief that things will get better for “we as a people!”
In closing, do not give in to pessimism and fear. Instead, choose to shine. By doing so, we might not only be saving the soul of our institutions of higher education, but collectively, we might be saving the soul of this nation.
Dr. Ronald W. Whitaker, II, is a Visiting Associate Professor of Education at Arcadia University, Director of the MEd in Educational Leadership Program, and Co-Director of the Social Action and Justice Education Fellowship Program at Arcadia University. Additionally, Dr. Whitaker is an inaugural faculty fellow at Vanderbilt University for the Initiative for Race, Research, and Justice.
Dr. Adriel A. Hiltonserves as Director of Programs, Transition and Youth Success Planning (staffing the Assistant Secretary of Juvenile Rehabilitation) in the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families. Most recently, he served as vice-chancellor for student affairs & enrollment management and associate professor of education at Southern University at New Orleans.
